• • • Professional advice from a certified personal fitness trainer will help you get fit. • • • Derick Rotunno of Body Mastery has been serving the people of La Crescenta, La Cañada, Montrose and Glendale California as well as the greater Los Angeles area since 1989.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Most of my clients in their 40’s and 50’s want to know how to lose weight. Conversely, people in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s ask me “how do I get in shape”. Seniors are usually more concerned withpersonal fitness and want to know how to get healthy.

Although most things are similar when it comes to getting a body stronger, there are several differences when it comes to working with mature adults. The first difference starts with time, the second with intensity. A 30 min. session is usually more than enough time for someone over 65 who is just starting out. Second, we perform more repetitions which gives the muscles more time to warm up which prevents injury.

One of the biggest concerns for seniors is also money. This is why we started 30 min. sessions for $30. We have several clients who come only once a week. We then personally tailor an “in home routine” to keep them productive between visits. When a person learns how to “exercise at home” it saves time, gas and money. You can come only once a week to us and do a session or two at home. The good thing is, you don’t need any expensive equipment. Two pair of hand weights is all you need. That usually means about $20. After a few weeks or months you may choose to come back for a tune up or a more advanced routine.

Another thing that’s a little different is nutrition. Even though it’s not always a priority “to lose weight”, most people want to lose fat. We all want a higher percentage of muscle but seniors need a higher percentage of fat in their diet to stay healthy. Going too low in fat is a frequent mistake and effect the absorption of fat soluble vitamins.

Finally, the good news is how fast mature adults can make improvements. Several studies through the years have show how dramatic results can be achieved in only eight weeks of strength straining. The key is working smarter not harder. Call us for a list of seniors who have benefited from our programs.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

How do you do what you know you should do. Many of my personal training clients in La Crescenta workout with us one or two days a week. The plan is to provide them with the "KNOW HOW", so they can extend the workouts one or two days a week by themselves. Sorry to say but a good majority of the clients wind up working out, only when they're with us.A good way to make yourself accountable is to make your progress visual. The easiest way to lose weight is to exercise three to five time per week. The reason for success is tied to the fact that you don't blow the eating when you just finished a workout. A good way to insure you do those extra workouts is to simply put a notation on your day planner or calendar. Some people like to put an X where as others like to write WORKOUT. You can draw a smiley face if you like. The idea is, make it easy to see when you look at your week if you've hit your goal.A suggestion, put a calendar on the frig or pantry door. Make a notation every time you walk or do any kind of exercise. You can include yard work, house cleaning or other activities. This way it fills up the week and makes you feel better.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

If you want to maximize your progress, you may want to change it up a bit when you workout. Most people love regularity and hate change. It is always easier to do the same thing than to learn something different.

Many people come to a personal trainer to learn some new tips on how to shape this body part or firm this body part. This is because the biggest mistake they make (next to doing nothing), is doing the same thing month after month.

You can actually reduce the weight and get better results if you target the muscles from different angles. This is a good example of working smarter not harder. Joe Weider, the father of body building called it muscle confusion.

The easiest way to change your routine is to do different exercises. If you don't need a lot of hand holding you can spend a few sessions with a personal trainer or fitness pro. They can show you how and you can take over from there.

If you have the basics down, here are some easy tips. #1, lift less weight but do it more times. #2, lift more weight and do it fewer times. #3, group two exercises together (super set) without stopping. This takes a little know how. It's best to combine either the same muscle group or related groups. #4, go more slowly on the negative ( easy part of the exercise) . For example lift the weight up and then down for a count of three. #5, add stretching after each exercise. Each muscle has been shown to benefit from being elongated after first being contracted. #6, change the frequency. Adding a day can make a big difference but sometimes taking a day off will also help prevent over training if that's the case.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Like hair dressers, most personal trainers think THEY have the best ideas about how to make you look better. We all have our methods and approaches that are for the most part all fundamentally sound. With all the differing fitness advice, one things seems to be universally agreed upon. To lose weight you need to burn 3500 calories. This will create a calorie deficit necessary to lose one pound.

99.9% of the fitness professionals and personal trainers also agree that you need to do something regarding fitness three to five times per week to facilitate this result. 20 years ago when I first began my fitness business, most of my clients came to my studio two or three times per week. In this new world economy, most of my clients work out with us once or twice a week. This created a need for us to help our clients when they were between sessions with us.

You can strength strain twice a week to maintain muscle mass. If you want to also lose weight you can add a day or two of walking or light weight lifting with dumb bells to get that third day in. Some people come to us one day a week and do two days on their own and make great progress.

What people need to understand is you need to do both cardio and strength training to change the shape of you body. If you walk every day you will make less progress that if you add some resistance to your weekly routine. The muscle that you inevitably build (even with small weights) is metabolically active. It burns calories even when we sleep.

In conclusion, if you want to lose weight and get healthier remember the 3 to 5 rule. Do something at least three times per week. It will not only speed up your metabolism but also help you make better eating choices. Walk for a 1/2 hour after dinner and you may wind up skipping the dessert you may of been thinking about.